During the third quarter of the Denver Broncos’ preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, Broncos offensive tackle Menelik Watson had a surprise in store for everyone else in attendance at Sports Authority Field.
Watson walked over to the stands overlooking the Broncos’ sidelines, got down to one knee, and proposed to his girlfriend Azania Stewart.
She said yes.
She said, "Yes!" 💍
Congrats, @MenelikWatson!#GBvsDEN pic.twitter.com/2ZrmA1oywr
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 27, 2017
.@MenelikWatson just asked his girlfriend to marry him. She said yes! pic.twitter.com/G8yR4Q2Gv3
— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) August 27, 2017
The British-born Watson told The Denver Post that no one else knew about the proposal plan:
“No one knew but me,” Watson said of his in-game proposal plan.
Broncos starting quarterback Trevor Siemian confirmed that the rest of the team had no idea:
“That was very cool,” Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian said. “None of us had any idea, really. That was a surprise for sure. I can’t say I was expecting that or have seen that before. But I’m happy for them both, obviously.”
Stewart is a professional basketball player in Latvia, and played for Great Britan in the 2012 Olympics (she also played basketball at the University of Florida). She’s due to head overseas today to start her new season, and Watson decided now was the time to propose to her, as he told the Associated Press:
“It was her first NFL game. She’s about to head overseas to start her season. She leaves tomorrow. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, been contemplating it, so what a perfect time to do it: in the stadium, our first game, in front of a beautiful crowd. I’m not really a public person, but I thought it would have been special.”
Stewart and Watson actually met at a basketball camp in London when they were teenagers, but he didn’t have the confidence then to tell her how he really felt:
“I just didn’t have the confidence back then to say anything to her,” said Watson, the Broncos hulking right tackle.
He certainly does now! Well done, Menelik.
